Car-coupling.



H. I. KRAKAU. OAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 27, 1911.

1 1 23, 1 30 Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

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v N 1 r k i H i l WITNESSES 'w u'w INVENTOR o) -x-\'(w-\ m,

Wm w N 1 THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHOH WASHINGTON, D, c

H. T. KRAKAU.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1911.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

H. T. KRAKAU.

OAR COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED NOV 27, 1911- Patented Dec. 29, 191%.

4 SHBETSSHBET s.

Z'HE NORRIS PEIERS m. PH'DTGLITH H. T. KRAKAU.

OAR COUPLING.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

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TEE Moms PETERS ca. PHOTKXLITHOW WASHING I'ON 0 c TE STATES IESTENT OFFICE.

HARRY T. KRAKAU, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,

A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

OAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 191 1.

Application filed November 27, 1911. Serial No. 662,625.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY T. KRAKAU, a resident of Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Couplers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improved coupler; Fig. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a verticalcross-section showing the parts in locked position; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the parts in lock-set position; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the parts in the position where the knuckle is pulled open; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 8, showing the parts in knuckle-thrown position; Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the lock lifter; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 8, showing a modification; and Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views of the locking block.

My invention relates to couplers of the usual vertical plane type having pivoted knuckles and preferably conforming to the usual Master Car Builders contour and other United States standards.

The invention relates particularly to the coupler disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 1,010,551, dated October 8, 1912, with which I also preferably employ the release mechanism between the lock and the lock lifter shown in my application Serial No. 575956, filed August 6, 1910.

One object of the present invention is to do away with the need for an internal shoulder in the coupling head to tilt the look into lock-set position, as shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 575956. This improvement makes it possible to reduce the necessary vertical height of the coupler head, which gives an important advantage.

The second point of difference is that in the present improved form, I lock-set the lock upon the knuckle tail. This avoids the necessity for making the various dimensions of the coupler cavity uniform in order to insure lock-set of the look. In other words, the head may be cast less accurately by the use of my present invention than in the case where the lock-set was on a shelf or ledge in a coupler head, as in my application Serial No. 575956.

In the drawings, in which I show a preferred form of the invention.

2 designates a coupler head carried by a hollow shank 3.

41 designates the knuckle pivotally mounted on the pin 5. The hook or coupling portion 6 of this knuckle may be of substantially the usual form, but its tail portion is preferably modified by providing it with the curved or convex portion 7 and an enlarged rear portion 8 having a face 9 preferably inclined at about 45 to the angle of draft and engaging a corresponding surface 10 in the coupler head. The purpose of this wedge-shaped tail with rearwardly diverging sides is to transmit pulling strains directly to the coupler head and lock, and relieve the pin 5 from strains. The rear end of the knuckle tail is preferably curved, as shown, and the rear side of the knuckle cavity is closed by the wall 12.

The lock 13 is preferably of the form shown in Figs. 9 and 10. It is preferably a solid vertically movable and tilting block which is rectangular in cross section. Its upper surface is higher in one portion than another, the highest portion being shown at 11 and formed by two inclines forming an apex. The bottom of this block is preferably provided with a depending lug or proj ection 15 which coiiperates with the knuckle tail in the manner hereinafter described. The lock is also provided with a rearward or laterally projecting lug 16 on its rear side, said lug cooperating with the slot 17 in the lock lifter 18. The various positions of this lug 16 and slot 17 are shown in dotted lines in Figs. 3, 4t, 5 and 6, which represent, respectively, the locked, lock-set, knuckle pulled-open, and knuckle-thrown positions of the knuckle. In the locking position the lock seats between the straight edge of the knuckle tail and the opposite wall of the knuckle cavity which is preferably recessed as at 19 to seat and guide the lock. The side of the lock engaging the locking face of the coupler is tapered downwardly, as best shown at 20 in Fig. 3, so as to give it a wedging action and also cause it to free more rapidly when lifted. The abutting wall of the coupler head has a correspond.-

ing inclination, as shown in Figs. 3 tot.

The lock lifter 18 in theform of all the figures, except F ig. 8,'is shown as adapted for top lift, it having an eye 18 for attachment of the uncoupling mechanism. The

slot 17 therein has an upward lateral extension 17 of proper shape to receive the lug 16 of the locking block, a shoulder 21 being,

provided between the two parts of the recess.

' At its lower end, the lifter is provided with an upwardly projecting lateral hook 22 cooperating with the knuckle-throwing mechanism'forxthe purpose hereinafter described.

- In'the locked position shown in Fig. 3, the

upper wall of thes'lot' 17 rests upon the lug of the lock which supports the'lifter. An

upward pull upon the lifter causes the bot tom wall 23. of the recess 17 to engage the 1 lower surface of the lock lug,thereby lifting the lock. A continued pull upon thelifter" right hand corner 'of t e block w move carries the lock upwardly un'ti I v wedge lei'at the top of the lock strikes the top wall of'the coupler-cavity, as shown in dotted lines'in Fig. 4. The continued lifting will then cause the block to tilt so that its lower edge will swing to'the left, as shown in Fig. ft, in a position over the knuckle tail- In this movement the upper to the right and strike the rightha'nd wall, the tilting being caused by the lifting power being applied atone side fof the center of gravity'an'd the block fulcrumin'g on the top 1 "of the wall of the coupler cavity.

Upon release of the lifter, the block will drop slightly and rest upon the inner edge-of the knuckle tail, as shownin Fig. 4. I

' It willbe noted-that the tilting of the lock to lock-set is obtained without any inner" shoulder in the coupler cavity, thus reducing the height of the cavity; while at the,

same time the lock-set ison the knuckle tail itself." This latter feature enables the coupler cavityto be made less accuratelyat thev same time securing proper functioning and operation.

In the movements just described, when the lock strikesthe upper wall of the head and is caused to tip laterally, its lug 16 moves to the left within the slot in'the lock lifter and is drawn underneath the shoulder 21 in the upper wall of the slot. The lug is now in such a position that its lower surface is disengaged fromthe shoulder 23,

whereby leaving the lock lifter; free to continue its vertical movement, if desired, for

' V the lock lifter disconnects throwing the knucklewithoutengaging and further lifting the look. In other words, from the lock in this stage of the operation allowing further upward movement of the lock lifter with out moving the lock.

The means by which the throwing of the rotates in a horizontal plane.

wardly projecting" of lever 28' has a hookportionv 29 engaging the o ening; of a 1ug30 formed integral with the lowe'r'side v of the coupler'nose. 'Rotationpf the lever the hump or knuckle is accomplished forms no part of "they consist of the Kittredge form. In this form Qt is a bell crank lever journaled at the under sideo'if thecoupler-head, preferably in a lug or eye 25 thereof and having 2.

bent portion '26 engaged by the lugsh'apjed portion *22 (if the lockiliftingmeniher. The

other arm of the bell'rank "extends down and engages th -rearwar d1y extending eye 27 of the lever 2 8. bell eraiikiley'er 2% rotates in a vertical. plane while the lever 28' The fori-' 28 on its axis throws the knuckle outwardly and thereby opens it,:a'nd" in the preferred form the lever 28is preferably rotated on the face of a stirrup During the raising of the lock lifter" afterlock setting, the knu'ckle tail will pass beneath the flat lower surface of the lock, raisingthe'lock from its inclined position, shown in Fig. 4:, until it assumes the position shown in Fig; 6", where it is squarely supported upon the: upper sur} face of the knuckle tail.

In Fig. 5 I show the knuckle p'ulledopen position which the parts takeif the operator lock-sets the lockand the 'cars are then pulled apart o'rthe lmuckle is pulled open by hand. As shown in" Figr-G, 'in t'he knuckle-thrown position, thegluglG is near the bottom ofv the sl-otl'7, while asshown in I knuckle pulled-open position. With the parts as shown in- Fig; 6 when the lock lifter Fig. '5 it is within the slot portion 17 in the and knuckle thrower is re leased, the lifter will. amp until "theu er,

wall of the slot rests uponlthe lug 16,. as

shown at 17 as substantially shown in Fig.

- 5 when thelock lifter will be carried by "the locl'c'. If now the knuckle is closed either by hand or in coupling withanother car, the lock rests upon the upper surface of the knuckle tail, but the knuckle tail slides'under it and will not'-'carry or drag the look over with it to the left.

der 21 in the upper slot portion 17*, this '120 p The reason for thisis that the lug 16 will-engage the shoulengagement' preventing the look from being frictionally dragged tothe left as it would be liable tobe'so moved by the-movement of; the knuckle tail, except for the resisting 'fiuence of the lug and shoulder just rn'enw tioned. The knuckle tail continues to close until it has become completely disengaged from the lower left hand corner of the lock, at which time, the lock then drops vertically, allowing the lifter to drop with it and seating again as a wedge, as shown in Fig. This last described action will take place upon closing the knuckle in either position shown in Fig. 5 or that shown in Fig. 6. If, after lock-setting in the position shown in Fig. 1, the lifter is not further lifted up, it will remain further supported on the lug of the lock; and if the knuckle is pulled open either by hand or in uncoupling, the knuckle tail will slide under the lock and support it thereon.

It will be noted that although the lock is at the same elevation in Fig. 5 as in Fig. 6, it lies at a point farther to the right in Fig. 5 than it does in Fig. 6, it being prevented from moving to the right in Fig. 6 by the lug 16 engaging the vertical Wall in the lower portion of the lifter slot.

Referring now to Fig. 6, if the lifting force which has hitherto actuated the lifting member 18 is released, the lifter will slide downwardly within the head until the projection 21 in the upper part of the lifter slot rests upon the lug 16. This is not a desirable position, for if the knuckle tail were now closed (omitting the function 0 lug 15), the shoulder 21 could not act as a stop to prevent the lock from belng frictionally dragged roper position. It is, therefore, desirable to provide means for shifting the lock slightly to the right during the initial closing movement of the knuckle so that its lug 16 will enter the upper right-hand portion 1'7 of the lifter slot and engage the shoulder 21. Such lateral shifting is performed during the initial closing of the knuckle by the action of the rear edge of the knuckle tail, which, before sliding completely under the lock, comes in contact with the depending lug 15 and thereby gives the look a slight push to the right, the lifter having at this time dropped to its lowermost position, where its shoulder 21 rests on the top of lug 16. The edge portion of the tail which acts upon lug 15 is shown at m in Fig. The shifting of the lock to the right in the upper portion of the lifter recess will cause the lug 16 and the shoulder 21 to come into engagement so that upon further closing movement of the knuckle tail the frictional dragging of the lock to the left is prevented by the engagement of its shoulder with the lug, as already described.

In Fig. 8, I show a form in which the lifter is arranged to be operated from the bottom. For this purpose, 't has a lower eye 82, through which a chain may extend to a lever or other operating device by which, through a lengthwise pull on the chain, the lifter may be moved up to carry out the same operations as in the top lift to the left out of itsform. In this form, the upper part of the lifter above the slotted part is done away with, and the top of the coupler is preferably closed, the lifter moving up and down within the coupler cavity.

The advantages of my invention result particularly from the modifications in the mode of lifting and locksetting. Also from the means of preventing frictional dragging of the look by movement of the knuckle tail. By doing away with any internal shoulder for tilting the lock, 1 am enabled to reduce the vertical height of the coupler head; while by lock-setting on the knuckle tail I avoid the necessity for accurate shaping of the interior cavity of the coupler head. The prevention of dragging the lock with the knuckle tail avoids carrying the look into position where it would not drop properly when released.

Many changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the coupler and its parts, the means without departing I claim 1. A car coupler having a pivoted knuckle, a lock adapted to bear on one side against the front face of the knuckle tail and on the other side against a side wall of the coupler, a lifter, and a lug and recess engagement between the lock and the lifter, a raised portion on the lock being adapted to cooperate with the top of the coupler cavity to release said engagement and to lock-set the lock on the knuckle tail, the said lifter having a further upward movement after disengagement from the lock to actuate the knuckle.

2. A car coupler having a pivoted knuckle, a lock adapted to bear on one side against the front face of the knuckle tail and on the other side against a side wall of the coupler, a lifter, a lug and recess engagement between the lock and the lifter, a shoulder in the recess, to prevent lateral movement of the lock and to hold it in alinernent to drop by gravity into locking position.

3. A car coupler having a pivoted knuckle, a lock being adapted to bear on one side against the front face of the knuckle tail and on the other side against a side wall'of the coupler, a lifter, a lug and recess engagement between the lock and the lifter, a shoulder in the recess to prevent lateral movement of the lock and to hold it in alinement to drop by gravity into locking position, and a projection on the bottom side of the lock adapted to bear against the knuckle tail when the knuckle is in open position and cooperating with the said shoulder to prevent lateral movement 0 the lock.

4:. A car coupler having a pivoted knuckle, a lock adapted to bear on one side from my invention.

for knuckle-throwing, etc.,

against the front face of the knuckle tail against a side wall'of andon the other side the coupler, a lifter, and a "1112, and recess engagement between the lock and the lifter, the raised portion on the lock being adapted to coiipera'te'with the top of the coupler cavity to release said engagement and lock set the leek and to permit a further move"- ment of the lifter ithout further raising co ies at this patent may be obta'meiifor five cents eat, my 7 I v I Wflhfngtomfi; 0;"

theloeIr i'er aet'uating lmlickle throwing 10 mechanism. 7 1

Intesti-mdn'y whereof, I have hereunto set HARRY T. KRAKAU. :Witnesses':

HARRY 01m, F. W. SWENSTON.

aii-iiress'ing'the Commissioner 0! Patents," 

